False colour scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Clostridium perfringens (formerly C. welchii), an anaerobic bacterium commonly found in soil and the cause of several diseases in man. Toxins produced by the bacterium are capable of digesting muscle and other tissues, causing gas gangrene in infected wounds. C. perfringens is often found in the intestinal tracts of man and domestic animals and frequently contaminates raw meat, causing outbreaks of food poisoning. Severe infections of the blood or intestines can cause septicaemia (blood poisoning & widespread tissue destruction) or necrotizing enterocolitis (gas gangrene of the bowel). Magnification: x6750 at 6x7 cm size.